Asked to be guarantor

Fireflyaway

I am already 90% sure of my decision having been asked to act as a guarantor.... No.

However, I still have some unanswered questions I'm hoping you guys can help me with.

We currently own our home but its on the market. Does a guarantor have to be a home-owner which means we would shortly be rendered ineligible anyway?

If we were to act as guarantor would this show up / be taken into consideration when we go to rent somewhere? ie the other persons rent could be seen as a potential outgoing?

silvercar

It won't show up that you are on the market. It won't show at all until after completion of the sale.

It is generally accepted that you would prioritise keeping a roof over your own head ahead of other people's housing. I'm not sure that you would necessarily declare that you were a guarantor and it won't show on credit searches.

eddddy

It's up to the letting agent/landlord to decide their criteria for being a guarantor. Their criteria may or may not include being a home owner.

Nobody will know that you are a guarantor (apart from the letting agent/LL) unless you tell them. And your future LL is unlikely to ask.

In terms of potential outgoings, many things might happen
- the tenant may default, and you have to pay their rent
- you may crash your car and face higher insurance premiums
- you may lose your job
- you might forget to lock your front door and have thousands of pounds of stuff stolen

I suppose you could say you should consider the likelihood of all these things and many others, when deciding how much rent you can afford.

Fireflyaway

Cheers guys.

There are 2 parts to my question I guess.

1 is that I don't really want to do this because of the risks, but its a family member and I feel its going to be hard to say no. Therefore I am hoping I might not be eligible anyway! That way I don't have to say no.

2 is that I want my family to come first. I need to move to a larger house and don't want my plans held back because of being a guarantor.

eddddy

Yes - I guessed you were looking for an easy way to say no.

If I was an LL, I might be pleased that a guarantor was selling their home and going into rented. It means they might have a big chunk of cash in the bank, rather than tied up in property.

You could ask the LA what their detailed criteria are for being a guarantor, in the hope that you can rule yourself out. But they may 'helpfully' relax the rules to rule you back in - if they want!!!

Fireflyaway

I am concerned that our hard work and plans could potentially come undone. We do hope to have a bit of money in the bank once we sell up, but it will be for our future home and I would be gutted if it got used up by paying someone else's rent.

I suppose I need to check with the estate agent as to the exact requirements. I'm hoping to do it anonymously though!

makeitstop

Fireflyaway wrote: »

I am already 90% sure of my decision having been asked to act as a guarantor.... No.

However, I still have some unanswered questions I'm hoping you guys can help me with.

We currently own our home but its on the market. Does a guarantor have to be a home-owner which means we would shortly be rendered ineligible anyway?

If we were to act as guarantor would this show up / be taken into consideration when we go to rent somewhere? ie the other persons rent could be seen as a potential outgoing?

Sometimes a simple "no, sorry I can't do it", is the best way to approach such a situation. As difficult as it may seem to do, you'll feel like a weight has been lifted after you have actually done that.

Just bite the bullet and say no, sorry and move on.

Fireflyaway

makeitstop - I think you could be right. My OT hardly slept last night worrying about it and the potential consequences. I would like the matter ended today one way or another.

Pixie5740

In words of Grangehill, "Just say no." The sooner you do it the sooner it's over and done with. Your OH will get a good nights sleep and the other party can try another avenue.

My brother asked me to by a guarantor last year. I said no because he was evasive when I asked about their household budget. After I said no I found out he was in arrears with the current place they were renting. Bullet dodged.

Fireflyaway

Pixie5740 - umm good point. I actually have no idea what their income is. They are very secretive! They have been in all sorts of financial difficulties though. If it were just a paper exercise I would consider but I have real concerns that they won't keep up with the rent.

MadelinesMum

Hi, I agree with just saying no. If you start giving reasons why you can't, then could get rebuttals which ends up going round in circles and making everyone get emotional and feel worse.

Just a straight forward, "no, sorry I can't do it"